Air Group's acquisition of Virgin America took place on Dec. 14, 2016. Operational results below include Virgin America results from pre-acquisition periods for comparison.

AIR GROUPOn a combined basis for all operations, Air Group reported a 6.6 percent increase in traffic on a 6.4 percent increase in capacity compared to July 2016. Load factor increased 0.2 points to 87.0 percent.

The following table shows the operational results for July and year-to-date, compared to the prior-year periods(1):

July

Year-to-Date

2017

2016

Change

2017

2016

Change

Revenue passengers (000)

4,075

3,909

4.2%

25,492

24,244

5.1%

Revenue passenger miles RPM (000,000) "traffic"

4,864

4,561

6.6%

30,134

28,308

6.5%

Available seat miles ASM (000,000) "capacity"

5,591

5,253

6.4%

35,596

33,722

5.6%

Passenger load factor

87.0%

86.8%

0.2 pts

84.7%

83.9%

0.8 pts

(1)

2016 information has been adjusted to include Virgin America operating results for comparison.

ALASKAAlaska reported a 7.8 percent increase in traffic on a 7.0 percent increase in capacity compared to July 2016. Load factor increased 0.6 points to 87.8 percent. Alaska also reported 85.7 percent of its flights arrived on time in July 2017, compared to 89.4 percent reported in July 2016.

The following table shows Alaska's operational results for July and year-to-date, compared to the prior-year periods:

July

Year-to-Date

2017

2016

Change

2017

2016

Change

Revenue passengers (000)

2,445

2,293

6.6%

15,211

14,218

7.0%

RPMs (000,000)

3,292

3,055

7.8%

20,607

19,227

7.2%

ASMs (000,000)

3,748

3,502

7.0%

24,092

22,731

6.0%

Passenger load factor

87.8%

87.2%

0.6 pts

85.5%

84.6%

0.9 pts

On-time arrivals as reported to U.S. DOT

85.7%

89.4%

(3.7) pts

81.3%

88.3%

(7.0) pts

VIRGIN AMERICAVirgin America traffic increased 2.4 percent on a 3.2 percent increase in capacity compared to July 2016. Load factor decreased 0.7 points to 86.4 percent. Virgin America also reported 75.8 percent of its flights arrived on time in July 2017, compared to 75.5 percent in July 2016.

The following table shows Virgin America operational results for July and year-to-date, compared to the prior-year periods:

July

Year-to-Date

2017

2016

Change

2017

2016

Change

Revenue passengers (000)

763

758

0.7%

4,729

4,611

2.6%

RPMs (000,000)

1,193

1,165

2.4%

7,239

6,945

4.2%

ASMs (000,000)

1,381

1,338

3.2%

8,638

8,291

4.2%

Passenger load factor

86.4%

87.1%

(0.7) pts

83.8%

83.8%

—

On-time arrivals as reported to U.S. DOT

75.8%

75.5%

0.3 pts

65.8%

76.1%

(10.3) pts

REGIONALRegional traffic increased 11.5 percent on an 11.6 percent increase in capacity compared to July 2016. Load factor decreased 0.1 points to 82.0 percent. Regional also reported 82.9 percent of its flights arrived on time in July 2017, compared to 86.0 percent in July 2016.

The following table shows regional operational results for July and year-to-date, compared to the prior-year periods:

July

Year-to-Date

2017

2016

Change

2017

2016

Change

Revenue passengers (000)

867

858

1.0%

5,552

5,416

2.5%

RPMs (000,000)

379

340

11.5%

2,288

2,136

7.1%

ASMs (000,000)

462

414

11.6%

2,866

2,700

6.1%

Passenger load factor

82.0%

82.1%

(0.1) pts

79.8%

79.1%

0.7 pts

On-time arrivals as reported to U.S. DOT

82.9%

86.0%

(3.1) pts

79.3%

87.8%

(8.5) pts

Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional partners, flies 40 million guests a year to 118 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba. With Alaska and Alaska Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900 destinations worldwide. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North America Satisfaction Study for 10 consecutive years from 2008 to 2017. Learn more about Alaska's award-winning service and unmatched reliability at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).